Readers’Picks

Best Burger

RG Burgers

201 Crossroads Blvd, Carmel 626-8054

Although readers voted RG Burgers the best for burgers, there’s a strong case to be made for their fries as well. True, the burger comes in almost infinite variations, from a turkey guacamole to a lemon pepper falafel to a classic beef “RG,” all available with the addictive RG sauce. But the fries—just salty enough, thick, crisp, and a golden-orange hue of perfection—are so damn good that the burger is almost superfluous. Regular customers can count on their favorite burger-fry-salad-milkshake combination being remembered by the staff; just a “the usual, please,” results in a perfect order. And we would be remiss not to mention how kid-friendly the place is: my own offspring tackle the wait staff with bear hugs while being provided with crayons and kids’ menus to color. [BW]

Best Bakery

Paris Bakery

271 Bonifacio Pl, Monterey 646-1620 and

1232 Broadway Ave, Seaside 394-7798

If you have nothing in your refrigerator except a bottle of ketchup and some hot-sauce packets from Taco Bell, head to Paris Bakery for a great breakfast, lunch and dinner. Start your morning right with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and spinach on a flaky croissant. If you want something sweeter, try the bakery’s delectable chocolate banana croissant. For your lunch break, grab a tasty torpedo-shaped petit pain sandwich, or a whole personal pizza for just $4.25, or the Chicken Condon Bleu sandwich—a unique treat. And for dinner, try the massive half-order of chef’s salad—the perfect meal for a hungry omnivore. Paris Bakery is way more than just a place to buy bread—and the bread and the pastries are great, too. [ST]

Best Take-out Food

Tommy’s Wok

Mission between Ocean and 7th, Carmel 624-8518

The pot stickers alone are worth driving to Carmel for. Homemade with all natural ingredients and no MSG, these things are hands-down the best pot stickers I have ever eaten (and I lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong for three years.) But pot stickers are just one of the appetizers. The Flaming Pu Pu platter for Two and the Paper Wrapped Chicken aren’t bad either. For dinner, you have a choice of 52 unique and delicious dishes. Highlights include the Pinenut Chicken, the spicy Empress Calamari, authentic Mu Shu Pork, the spicy Sesame Beef, Mongolian Lamb and Singapore Style Rice Noodles. Plus, they offer a wide range of vegetarian dishes all served with fresh organic vegetables. This place isn’t just the best take-out in the county. It’s all about the ingredients, the preparation and a singular blend of Szechuan, Hunan and Mandarin recipes. Awesome lunch menu, too. [RM]

Best Deli Sandwich

Goodie’s

518 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove 655-3663

Located in a Pacific Grove gas station made famous in the novel Cannery Row, Goodie’s makes sandwiches worthy of a Pulitzer. In Steinbeck’s book, Henri, the avant-garde poet, spends hours sitting at Red Williams’ gas station watching the flagpole skater at Holman’s Department Store across the street. Today, the renovated gas station houses both Goodie’s and a produce market, but it remains a great place to sit outside and enjoy one of the thickest sandwiches on the Peninsula. Their menu features 32 diverse subs and sandwiches including 13 hot choices like the Hot Ham and Baked Brie, 12 classics like the Chicken Breast, and seven vegetarian choices like the Mediterranean (feta cheese, sliced olives, red onions, cucumber, spinach and creamy dressing on a soft Francese roll). Plus, Goodie’s is just a few blocks from Lovers Point, providing some Grade A picnic potential. [RM]

Best Cheese selection

The Cheese Shop

Carmel Plaza, Ocean and Junipero, Carmel 625-2272

Whether it comes from the milk of domesticated cows, lumbering water buffaloes, baying sheep or billying goats, dedicated farmers and cheese makers throughout the world make an astoundingly wide array of delectable products—France alone lays claim to over 400 varieties of cheese. They might all be in the Cheese Shop. Walking into the Cheese Shop is a sensory experience like no other. It is a cheese lover’s cathedral; a cacophony of cultured cream calling to devotees and beginners alike. Regular visitors are keenly aware of the relationships built with individual cheese-makers around the world and religiously await each precious arrival. This is a special place. [RN]

Best Local White Wine

Talbott Vineyards Chardonnay

We who live in this magic place are blessed with so much to be proud of. Near the top of the list reigns the perennial choice as the greatest white wine produced here. Rob Talbott has fashioned a small wine dynasty the same way his parents fermented a small fashion dynasty; by hiring really good people, treating them with respect and fairness, motivating them with love and commitment and allowing them to produce their best. The result is a lineup of chardonnays that are just about unmatched anywhere in California. From the delicious, affordable Pumari line to the amazing Cuvee Audrey, an unfined, unfiltered version of Rob’s original Diamond T vineyard classic, Talbott Chardonnay has laid down the gauntlet across all price points and styles to remain solidly atop a very large heap. [RN]

Best Local Beer/Best Local Brewery

English Ales Brewery,

223 Reindollar Ave, Marina 883-3000

Peter Blackwell is a regular transplanted Brit with a hardscrabble work ethic, a nose for business and a thirst for good beer…English beer. Believing that American beer left a lot to be desired, Blackwell decided he’d brew English beer right here. He pounded the pub trail back in Great Britain until one brewery decided it would be all right for him to brew their Hampton Brewery-style beer in the Colonies. He returned home to the Monterey Peninsula and built what is now English Ales Brewery and Pub. Enter British-trained master brewer Ramsay Borthwick, and in a little over three years great, home-brewed British-style beers like 1066, Ramsay’s Fat Lip Ale and many other fresh, delicious brews are regularly seen on tap handles from the Bay Area to San Luis Obispo. Also, English Ales’ Pub has become quite the hangout for locals. [RN]

Editors’Picks

Best ‘How’d They Do That?’ Moment

Ole Taqueria and Grill

1927 Natividad Rd, Salinas 443-9500

It’s all about the ceviche. One of these days, probably at around 3am, the ingredients will just pop into mind, and I’ll bolt straight up in bed and finally have all of the answers. And then I’ll sleep peacefully. Until then, it’s pure guesswork. I’ve got the loads of insanely fresh shrimp down, the hunks of ripe avocado, the plump and juicy tomatoes. After that, you’re simply on your own to try to figure out the other secrets to this meal-sized to-kill-for Mexican-style shrimp cocktail. It’s all you really need on a dateless Saturday night. Well, that and a Pacifico with a lime pushed into the neck and about 45 minutes of complete silence. I suppose it’d be okay if you had a date, too, only then you might have to share the bowlful of bliss. You won’t want to do that. [MC]

Best Place for a Donut

Red’s Donuts

433 Alvarado St, Monterey 372-9761 1646 Fremont Blvd, Seaside 394-3444

Do you know why donuts have holes? Well who does? But down at Red’s Donuts (both in Monterey and Seaside), no one’s too proud to talk it over. Red’s is an easy-going place where the people behind the counter don’t follow a corporate script. They smile and joke, shout conversations across the room and serve gooooood donuts. Forget the gym! Just lifting one of these apple fritters will pump your pecs. Your biceps will twitch as you heave the trees-worth of syrup caked on these maple bars up to your juicing mouth. The nut donuts are more packed than a Russian sanitarium and their coconut shreds are surely flown in from Thailand each dawn. The holiest way to start your day is most deliciously with a Red’s donut. [NK]

Readers Poll Winners

Best Bakery

Paris Bakery Café

271 Bonifacio Pl, Monterey 646-1620 and 1232 Broadway Ave, Seaside 394-7798

Best Bagels

The Bagel Bakery

Six county locations

Best BBQ

The Central Texan BBQ

10500 Merritt Ave, Castroville 633-2285

Best Burger

RG Burgers

470 Alvarado St, Monterey 647-3100 and 201 Crossroads Blvd, Carmel 626-8054

Best Burrito

Chipotle Mexican Grill

500 Del Monte Shopping Center, Monterey 641-9353

Best Calamari

Abalonetti Seafood Trattoria

57 Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey 373-1851

Best Deli Sandwich

Goodie’s

518 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove 655-3663

Best Butcher Shop

Monte Vista Market

15 Soledad Dr, Monterey 373-3737

Best Cheese Selection

The Cheese Shop

Carmel Plaza, Ocean and Junipero, Carmel 625-2272

Best Take-Out Food

Tommy’s Wok

Mission and Ocean, Carmel 624-8518

Best Cup Of Coffee

Starbuck’s

Multiple locations

Best Desserts

Rosine’s Restaurant

435 Alvarado St, Monterey 375-1400

Best Ice Cream

Baskin Robbins

4 county locations

Best Pizza-Tied

Pizza My Heart

630 Del Monte Center, Monterey 656-9400

Pizza My Way

1157 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove 643-1111

Best Salads

Crazy Horse Restaurant

1425 Munras Ave, Monterey 649-4771

Best Juice/Smoothies

Jamba Juice

3 county locations

Best Local Red Wine

Bernardus-Marinus Blend Vineyards

Best Local White Wine

Talbott Vineyards Chardonnay

Best Local Beer/Brewery

English Ales Brewery

223 Reindollar Ave, Marina 883-3000